Peterborough, New Hampshire (CNN) - New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, in an e-mail announcing her endorsement, emphasized Mitt Romney's strength in a potential general election match-up against Barack Obama.

Ayotte will officially endorse Romney on Sunday afternoon. The former Massachusetts governor was the "strongest candidate" in the GOP field to take on Obama next year, she wrote supporters.FULL POST

Peterborough, New Hampshire (CNN) - Mitt Romney said Saturday he would not support any deal by a congressional debt committee that raised taxes, even as time ran short on a deficit-reduction agreement in Congress.

"I don't believe that raising revenues is the right answer to balancing our budget," he said. "I will not support any proposal based upon increasing taxes or revenues. I will, however, support proposals that are focused on reducing spending."FULL POST

(CNN) - Newt Gingrich proposed a plan Friday that would allow poor children to clean their schools for money, saying such a setup would both allow students to earn income and endow them with a strong work ethic.

Speaking at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, the former House Speaker said his system would be an improvement on current child labor laws, which he called "truly stupid."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, a member of the congressional committee created to craft a bipartisan deficit reduction deal, said Saturday the group will work until the deadline, but it's "pretty doubtful" the bipartisan panel will forge a last-minute compromise.

Leaving his office in the Capitol on Saturday, Kyl noted the deadline for getting a compromise evaluated, or "scored," by the Congressional Budget Office is Monday.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Members of the congressional committee created to craft a bipartisan deficit reduction deal continued working into the weekend despite growing pessimism over their inability so far to reach agreement.

Republican committee members held a conference call Saturday morning, a senior GOP aide said. The aide declined to describe the discussions.

(CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain made his first public comments about receiving protection from the United States Secret Service on Friday, telling reporters in Florida there were concerns from his campaign about his safety.

"We were in New Hampshire and there was some things that, quite frankly, made us feel a little uncomfortable," Cain said at a media availability event in Jacksonville. "So we are glad that the request was approved and it feels great because they do a great job of making things move seamlessly."FULL POST

(CNN) - The chances of seeing professional basketball in 2011 are getting smaller, but fans of the sport will have at least one opportunity to watch pro players at work in December - if they're willing to include a donation for President Barack Obama's re-election bid.

The "First Ever Obama Classic" is slated for a yet-to-be-announced venue in Washington on December 12, three days before the first possible NBA game.FULL POST